Babus tried to clip RTI’s wings

Government officials had, in September 2009, sought to curtail your right to information by pushing for a 100-word limit on RTI applications, but the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stepped in to prevent this, according to documents recently made public under the transparency law.

Government officials had, in September 2009, sought to curtail your right to information by pushing for a 100-word limit on RTI applications, but the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) stepped in to prevent this, according to documents recently made public under the transparency law.

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The PMO felt that while there was a good case for making RTI questions precise, a 100-word limit “might not be reasonable”.

The documents show the PMO preferred a one-application-one-subject rule and a 250-word limit, which was increased to 500 words on the advice of the Sonia Gandhi-led National Advisory Council last month.